Voting-machine.



PATENTED JUNE 13, 1905.

W. J. WILKINSON.

VOTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.15, 1904 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

740mm. 52M;

UNITED STATES Patented June 13, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM J. \VILKINSON, OF BALTIMORE. MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- FOURTHTO WILLlAh I B. USILTON, OF OHESTERTOWN, MARYLAND, AND ONE-FOURTH TOLLOYD WILKINSON, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

VOTING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 792,373, dated June 13,1905.

Application filed August 15, 1904. SerialNo. 220,691.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM J. WILKIN- SON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Voting-Machines, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in voting-machines, and has amongits objects the provision of a simple machine by which the ballotscommonly used and often of a complicated nature maybe entirely dispensedwith, the liability of the voter making errors and his vote thrown outovercome, and the labor of ascertaining the total votes cast for eachcandidate accurately determined at a glance.

By means of the invention contentions be tween the election oilicials ofthe opposing parties as to the counting or throwing out of ballots isentirely overcome and the final results of the election quickly reached.

With these and other objects in view the accompanying drawingsillustrate one form of device for carrying the invention into practicaleffect, in whioh Figure 1 illustrates a top plan view of the machine;Fig. 2, a front elevation of the same, the cover being swung open toreveal the tabulating devices. Fig. 3 illustrates an end elevation ofthe machine. Fig. 4 shows a rear perspective view of the same. Fig. 5illustrates a perspective plan view of a portion of the device tomechanically determine the number of candidates to be voted for by asingle voter. Fig. 6 shows an enlarged sectional detail of thetabulating mechanism. Fig. 7 illustrates a detail perspective view of adevice to prevent more than one movement or operation of the tabulatingdevice by one person. Fig. 8 is a view of the same with the lower end ofthe rod in the normal inoperative position. Fig. 9 shows one form of keydevice for operating the rods.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, 1 designates a casing of anysuitable size and in the present instance having a horizontal bed or top2, a bottom 3, parallel with said top,

and a wall or screen 4, projecting from said top and serving to shieldthe actions of the voter. The case is also provided with a door 5, whichduring the progress of voting covers the tabulating or registeringmechanism and prevents inspection of same.

The bed or top 2 (see Figs. 1 and 5) is provided with a vertical slot 6,which extends in. a longitudinal direction. At one side of the slot thebed or top is provided with a plurality of parallel spaces 7, which arepreferably printed on a sheet and secured to the top, and each of saidspaces is designed to contain the name of a candidate. It will be notedby reference to Fig. 1 that the spaces in the present instance arearranged in sets or sec tions 8, 9, and 10. The object of thusseparating the spaces into sections is for the purpose of placing allthe candidates of the opposing parties who are running for the sameol'lice in one section. For example, in section 8 there are live spaces,each of which is to contain the name of one of the candidates. Thusthere are five candidates, all running for the same office. In. section9 there are eight spaces, and consequently eight candidates, all runningfor another oHice, and in. section 10 there are sixteen candidates, andconsequently sixteen spaces, one for the name of each candidate forstill a different o'flice. It is obvious that the particular form andnumber of spaces or sections is entirely immaterial and will be variedto suit the particular election being held. On the opposite side of theslot 6 the bed or top 2 is further provided with a plurality of holes11, which extend vertically through the top, and these holes arearranged so that each has position directly in line with one of thespaces 7 on the opposite side of the slot.

Within the case and below the top or bed are a plurality of parallelvertical rods 12, which extend from the bottom 3 up to the bed or top 2.At the lower end each rod is seated. in a socket or depression 13 in thebottom of the case, and the upper end of each rod projects from theunder side of the bed or top 2 and terminates in the hole 11 directlyover it and which serves as a bearing to sustain the rod in a verticalposition. The extreme upper end of each rod is also provided with asquared head 14, which when the rod is in the normal or inoperatedposition is wholly with- 1 in the hole 11 and beneath the top surface ofthe bed or top 2.

Beneath the bed or top 2 and extending in a direction parallel with theslot 6 is a slide or rod 15, one end 16'o'f which projects through anend wall of the case and in the resent instance is provided with aninverte -U-shaped plate 17, which will presently be described. Thisslide or rod 15 has position so that one side 18 will register With thevertical wall of the slot 6, and said slide 15 is provided withlaterally-projecting pins 19, which are arranged on the slide so as tohave :a position beneath the top, but directly below the division-lines20'between the sections Sand Qand 9 and 10. A lurality of plates 21 arealso rovided on t e bed, and these lateseach ave a downturned flange 22,w ich enters the slot 6 and projects downwardly and adjacent the side 18of the slide. It will be noted that these plates are of the same widthas the spaces 7 and by sliding horizontally may be .made to entirelycover any one of the holes 11 and also the head of the rod in said hole.This feature is advantageous and will presently be fully explained. Byreference to Fig. 5 it will be seen that the downturned flanges 22 ofthe plates 21 have position between the .pins 19 on the slide 15, .andby reference to Fig. 1 it will be noted that the number of platesadjacent each section vis less than the total spaces of said section. Itwill also be understood that the plates adjacent one section areseparated from the lates of the next adjoining section by the pins 19 onthe slide 15, so that while the plates are movable in a directionparallel with the slot 6 their movement is limited by the pins, and theplates of one section cannot be moved into the adjoining section. Thenumber of plates for each section is determined by the number ofcandidates running for the oflice that section represents and thenumberof persons to be elected to fill thatofiice. For example, insection 8 there are five candidates, from which three are to be elected.Therefore the number of lates required for that section will be two, wllich, it will be seen, is the difference between the number ofcandidates and the number to be elected. Again, in section 10 there aresixteen candidates; but only eight of that number are to be elected andeight plates are there re uired. It will be understood that the num erof plates for each section must be such as will onlyleave uncovered anumber of holes 11 equal to the number of persons to be-elected. Asanexample-of this in section 8 there are five candidates, only three ofwhom are to be elected. Therefore two plates must be provided, which maybe shifted so as to register with the s aces containing the names of thetwo can ida'tes the voter has decided not to votefor. By thus shiftingthese two lates the holes 1 1 opposite the names of said two candidatesand the head ends of the rods in said holes willbe covered by theplates. By means of a suitable key 23 the uncovered head ends of therods may then be operated to record the vote for the desired candidatethrough mechanism now to be described.

The rods 12 are provided with screwthreads 24, on which a head 25 of anysuitable form is sustained. In practice these threads are cut on therods ten to the inch for a purpose to be presently set forth. This headin the present instance has the form of a nut and at oneside is providedwitha laterally-projecting pin 26, as-clearl-y seen in Fig. 6, whichprojects through a vertical slot .27 in a vertical partition 28 at therear -of the rods. This partition is provided witha plurality of said:slots 27, which are so disposed that each slot will have positiondirectly behind one of the :rods, so as to receive the pin of the headcarried on said rod. The outer vertical surface of the partition 28 isprovided with a series of parallel .horizontal lines 29, a few of whichare shown in Fig. 2, and these lines form .a scale adjacent thetraveling heads 25, by Which the position of the head on the rod willindicate the total votes registered for the candidate whose name appearson the bed or top 0 posite the upper end of the rod. These sca e-linesare placed one-tenth of an inch apart, so that each zrevolutioniof therod will cause the head 25 to travel successively from one line to:another. It will be understood that the pin 26 on each head 25 byprojecting through the vertical slot 27 prevents the turning of the headwhen the rod is turned, and as the rod is turned by the key the head iscaused toadvance on the rod a distance equal to the space between eachtwoadj oining scale-lines on the partition. The particular location ofthe .partition and the scale-lines are immaterial, and they may beplaced in front of the rods as readily as behind them and anunobstructed view -of the scale thereby -ob tained.

The lower ends of the rods 12, as have been explained, are each seatedin a socket 13 in the (bottom of the case, and their upper ends merelyfit loosely in the holes '11 in the bed or top 2. By thus sustaining therods they are capable of vertical movement, and this movement isutilized to positively prevent the voter from recording more than asingle vote for any one candidate or voting for more candidates than heis entitled. The mechanism by which this is accomplished will now bedescribed.

Adj acenteach of the sockets 13 in the bottomof thecase is a cam-surface30, as clearly shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8, which in the present instanceextends from the bottom up wardly and around the circumference of thelower end of the rod. The higher point of the cam terminates in thepresent instance at the rear of said rod and forms a vertical stop 39. Apin 31 projects laterally from the lower end of the rod and when in thenormal inoperated position rests on the lowermost surface of said cam,as shown in Fig. 8. At the rear of the lower ends of the rods and withinthe case is a plate 32, which in the present instance rests on thebottom 3 with the front longitudinal edge 33 confronting the camsurfaces30. At the opposite longitudinal edge 34 of said plate are flatleaf-springs 35, which press against said edge and yieldingly press theplate forward toward the cam-surfaces. The front edge 33 of this plateis provided with a plurality of stop-plates 36,which latter in thepresent instance are of an angleiron form. These stop-plates arepositioned on the sliding plate so that each will have a positionadjacent one of the camsurfaces. Each stop-plate is provided with adownwardly-curved corner 37, adjacent the ele vated surface of the cam30, and as each rod is turned in the socket 13 the pin 31 on said rodwill ride up the inclined cam-surface and be delivered onto thestop-plate at the rear. This elevation of the pin over the cam-surfacecauses the rod to which it is rigidly attached to be elevated or raisedin the socket and also causes the upper head end of said rod to beprojected through the hole 11 and above the bed or top 2, as seen at 38in Fig. 2, and will prevent further movement of the plates 21 on thebed.

Above the sliding plate 32 and within the case is a shaft 40, one end ofwhich projects through the end wall and is provided with a hand-wheel41. Projecting downwardly from this shaft are two arms 42, the lowerends of which fit into sockets or depressions 43 in the upper surface ofthe sliding plate 32. By turning the wheel 41 and shaft the arms 42 willcause the plate 32 to be moved horizontally on the bottom against theaction of the springs 35, and this movement of said plate will withdrawthe stop-plates 36 from beneath the pins 31 and permit the rods to dropback into their normal positions with the pins 31 adjacent the stop-wall39 of the cams. When in this position, the stop-wall serves to preventthe rotation of the rods in a direction that would cause the heads 25 tobe returned toward their starting-point, and thus subtract from thevotes previously cast. A bell or other signal 44 on the interior of thebox is connected to the shaft 40, and when the latter is rotated torelease the rods and register the votes the bell is operated to give anaudible signal that the vote has been registered. As soon as the shafthas been operated and the rods operated by the voter returned to theirnormal positions, with their upper head ends beneath the top or bed, thevote has been entirely registered; but the plates 21 will be in theposition as set by the voter, and the succeeding voter by merely notingthe position of the plates would have accurate knowledge of the votepreviously cast. In order to remove such a fatal objection, provisionhas been made whereby the )lates may be disturbed and all evidence ofthe vote previously registered removed. It has heretofore been explainedthat the pins 19 on the slide or rod 15 project later ally beyond theflanges 21 at the ends of each series of plates. By this arrangement thevoter or one of the election officials may grasp the U-shaped plate 17and partly with draw the slide, and this movement of the slide willbring the pins 19 in contact with the flanges 2]. of the plates and movethe latter from their adjusted positions and collect them at the ends oftheir respective sections, and thereby prevent the next voter fromgaining a knowledge of the vote previously registered.

In practice the operation is as follows: The qualifications of the voterhaving been passed on favorably by the usual oflicers, the voter isprovided with the operating-key 23 and takes his position at the side ofthe machine. He then slides the plates 21 over the bed or top 2, so asto move them out of register with the spaces 7, containing the names ofthose candidates for whom he desires to vote. As the difference betweenthe number of plates and the number of candidates equals the number ofvotes entitled to be registered, the removal of the plates to uncoverthe holes 11 opposite the names of the candidates to be voted for willcover the holes opposite the names of all the other candadates. When theplates have all been arranged to suit the voter, the holes remaininguncovered will be opposite the names of the candidates for whom heproposes voting. The voter now takes the key 23 and places it over theexposed head end 14 of one of the rods 12 and turns the rod. Thisturning of the rod causes the latter to be elevated by means of the pin31 riding up on the cam 30, and the head end 14 of the operated rod willproject above the bed or top 2. The next uncovered rod will then beoperated in the same manner and left projecting above the bed. When allthe uncovered rods have been operated, as seen in Fig. 2, the head endsof said rods will project at each side of the plates registering withthe names of those candidates not voted for, and as the rods providedfor these latter candidates are covered by the plates and the platescannot now be shifted the voter cannot intentionally or unintentionallyvote for more candidates than he is entitled. It will also be seen thatin operating the rods to register a vote the rods can only be turneduntil their pins contact with the stop-plates 36, at which time themovement or rotation of the rods is brought toa stop. At this point thepins 31 will have position on the stop-plate, but will have been rotatedso as to pass beyond the vertical end 39 of the cam-surface. In turning,the rods will screw through and slightlyraise the heads 25 thereon. Whenthe voter has 0 erated the rods to register his vote, one of t I eelection oflicials will turn the wheel 41 and through the mechanismheretofore described release and permit the rods to drop to their normalpositions. As soon as this has been done thevoter, or one of theelection officials, if preferred, will grasp the U-shaped plate 17 onthe end of the rod 15 andbypulling said rod out and then returning itwill disturb the position of the plates 21 on the bed, and therebyremove all evidence as to how he voted. The next voter will thenregister hisvote in the same manner. When the pollsare closed and thetime has arrived for tabul'ating the votes, the door or other covering 5is removed to expose the scale 29, and by noting the position of theheads 25 with respect to said scale the total votes registered for eachcandidate will be ascertained, each line below the edge of the headrepresenting a vote cast for the candidate said head represents.

It is to be understood that many alterations and modifications of theparts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. isimmaterial as to the number of rods or registering devices employed, asa machine may have as many rods as there are candidates and may have onerod representing all the candidates of a single party, so that theoperation of one rod would register a vote for all the candidates of theparty that rod designates.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a voting-machine the combination with a plurality of registeringdevices mo-vable in two planes, of means whereby the movement of saiddevices in one plane will record a vote; selecting means primarily underthe control of the voter for determining which registering devices heshall operate, and means whereby the movement of the selected registerindevices in the other plane will prevent i-urt er movement of theselecting means.

2. In a votin -machine the combination with aplurality o registeringdevices, of movable devices to prevent access to a predetermined numberof said registering devices, means whereby the movement of saidregistering devices in one plane to record a vote will simultaneouslymove them in another plane to lock the movable devices.

It is also to be understood that it 3. In a voting-machine thecombination with a lurality of rotatable registerin devices, 0 meanswhereby the rotation 0 said devices will record a vote; means for movingsaid devices in a plane at right angles to that in which they rotate,and means coacting with said registering devices after they have beenmoved in said right-angle plane to determine the number of votes to becast.

4. In a voting-machine the combination with the registering devices foreach candidate, of devices to cover the registering devices ofnot-voted-for candidates to prevent their operation, said devices beingadjustable by the voter; means to operate the registering mechanism inone lane to record a vote and iii-another plane to ock the coverdevices, and means to positively disturb the adjustment of said coverdevices to destroy the evidence of the vote.

5. In a voting-machine the combination with a case provided withregistering mechanism for each candidate which are movable in twoplanes, of devices to be operated by the voter for determining thenumber of votes tobe registered; means for operating the registeringdevices in one plane to record a vote; means for 0 rating saidregistering devices in another p ane to prevent further 0 eration of thevote-determming devices an also toprevent their own operation.

6. In a voting-machine the combination with a case, of a plurality ofrods sustained in said case and movable in two directions; means wherebythe rotation of the rods will record the votes cast, and means formoving the rods in a lengthwise direction as they are rotated to preventthem from being operated more than once by any one voter.

7. In a voting-machine the combination with a case provided with a rod,of a plurality of rods in said case and normally below the surfaceofsaid bed; a plurality of movable devices also on said bed and arrangedto cover a number of said rods, means for rotating the uncovered rods toregister each vote, and means to project said rods beyond the surface ofsaid bed to prevent further movement of the movable devices until afterthe voting o-p eration is completed.

8. In a voting-machine the combination witha case provided with a bedhaving a plurality of bearings, of a plurality of rods in said case andeach having an end in one of said bearings; a plurality of plates onsaid bed and movable over said bearings, means for rotating the rods toregister the votes, means for projecting the rods between said plates tolock the latter against movement and means for positively disturbing theposition of the plates-to destroy the evidence of the vote.

9. In a voting-machine the combination with a case, of a'plurality ofrods in said case and provided with registering devices; plates movableacross the ends of said rods to prevent access to some of the latter;means whereby the rotation of each uncovered rod will record a vote;means for moving the rods in a lengthwise direction simultaneously withtheir rotation to project them above the bottom surface of said plates,and means to hold each operated rod projected until all the votes arerecorded.

10. In a voting-machine the combination with a case, of registeringdevices in said case; adjustable devices for permitting access to alimited number of said registering devices and a slide movable in adirection parallel with the movement of said adjustable devices todisturb the latter.

11. In a voting-machine the combination with a case, of a plurality ofrods in said case registering devices operated by said rods; plates onsaid case and projecting over the operating ends of a limited number ofsaid rods, and a slide movable adjacent the ends of said rods andcoacting with said plates to positively disturb the adjustment of thelatter after each vote has been registered.

12. I11 a voting-machine the combination with a case provided at oneside with a slot and also having a plurality of holes adjacent saidslot; rods in said case and having their operating ends normally withinsaid holes; plates movably secured to said case and projecting over saidholes; registering devices coacting with said rods, and a slide adjacentsaid slot and by means of the latter coacting with said plates todisturb the positions of the latter.

13. In a voting-machine the combination with a case provided at one sidewith a slot and a plurality of holes adjacent said slot; rods in saidcase and having their operating ends within said holes; plates movablewith respect to said case and each having one end projecting so as tocover one of the holes in said case and the other end of each plateprojecting through said slot; a slide movable at the side of said slotand engaging the ends of the plates in said slot, and registeringdevices coacting with said rods.

14. In a voting-machine the combination with a case, of a plurality ofrods in said case; registering devices coacting with said rods; platesprojecting over and covering the operating ends of a limited number ofsaid rods; cams at the other end of said rods, and means whereby therotation of said rods to register a vote will simultaneously move themby means of the cams in a lengthwise direction to project the operatingends between said plates.

15. In a voting-machine the combination with a case, of a plurality ofrods in said case; registering devices coacting with said rods; platesprojecting over and covering the operating ends of a limited number ofsaid rods; cams at the other end of said rods; pins on said rods andprojecting over said cams, and stop-plates adjacent said rods to limitthe rotation of the latter and to maintain the rods in the positions thecams cause them to assume when rotated.

16. In a voting-machine the combination with a case, of a plurality ofrods in said case; registering devices coacting with said rods; platesto cover the operating ends of a limited number of said rods; a cam atthe other end of each of said rods; a pin on each rod and projectingover the surface of the adj acent cam; a stop-plate adjacent each camand arranged to receive the pin and support the rod when the latter isrotated and moved lengthwise to project its operating end between saidplates, and means for moving said stop-plates and retracting said rods.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WVILLIAM J. WVILKINSON.

Witnesses FELIX R. SULLIVAN, G. FERDINAND VOGT.

